Santorum Wins Alabama, Mississippi

Rick Santorum posted surprise primary wins in Alabama and Mississippi
on Tuesday, handing the social conservative a pair of Deep South
victories that are all but certain to amplify calls for Newt Gingrich to
drop out of the GOP race.

NBC News called Alabama for
the former Pennsylvania senator shortly before 10 p.m. EDT, nearly two
hours after the polls closed there and in neighboring Mississippi.
Roughly an hour later, CNN and other networks called the Magnolia State
for the former senator.

It is still too early to tell whether Gingrich will hold off Mitt
Romney for second place in either of the primaries. Regardless, the
former House speaker is sure to face a growing chorus urging him to call
it quits after he failed to secure a win in either of the contests,
both of which his staff had previously marked as must-wins for his campaign.